Ballast-removing machine



Nov. 20, 1928.

E. OVERMIER BALLAST REMOVING MACHINE Filed Aug. 5, 1925 4 sheets-Sheet 2w O m fm 35% 5mm @www gd/1" @PM Am Nov. 20, 192s. 1,691,933

E. OVERMIER BALLAST REMOVING MACHINE Filed Aug. 5. 1926 4 sheets-sheet 5m DNN Inlfeng;

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Nov. 20, 1928. 1,691,933 v E. OVERMIER BALLAST REMOVING MACHINE FiledAug. 5, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 "xi my g/WM (ifm.

Patented Nov. 20, 1928.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMMONS OVERMIER, OF LA GRANGE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO MAINTENANCE EQUIP-MENT COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

BALLAST-REMOVING MACHINE.

Application filed. August 5. 1926. Serial No. 127,352

This invention relates to a. ballast removing machine, and especially toa machine for removing material from between the ties of a railwaytrack. `More particularly, the invention relates to a self-contained,portable apparatus, movable along the track for performing this ballastremoving operation. A machine of this type is disclosed and claimed inmy copending application, Serial No. 747,- 537. filed November 3, 1924,now Patent No. 1,588,801, dated June l5, 1926, and this presentinvention relates to improvements in the machine disclosed and claimedin said copending application.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide certainimprovements in a machine of the type briefly referred to hereinabove,and described more in detail inv the specification which follows.

Another object is to provide a. machine of this type with means wherebyit may be bodily raised or lowered with respect to the supportingwheels. Certain portions of the apparatus are normally below the levelof the tracks on which the machine is supported when in operatingposition, and by the use of this means all portions of the apparatus maybe raised clear of the tracks so that the machine can be transported forany dist-ance.

Another object is to provide improved lifting-jack means for elevatingthe apparatus with respect to the supporting wheels.

Another object is to provide an apparatus of this type with two sets ofsupporting wheels, arranged at right angles to one another, incombination with means whereb-y the entire weight of the machine can betransferred from one set of supporting wheels to the other.

Another object is to provide power-driven means for operating` theraising and lowering mechanism, said means being provided with anautomatic stop device operative when Vthe apparatus has reached theupper or lower limits of its travel.

Another object is to provide an apparatus of this type, which embodiesdiggers operativ'e beneath the track rails and between the ties, withmeans for automatically guiding the diggers into the spaces beneath therails as the diggers are lowered, and for moving them out from under therails as they are elevated.

The above and numerous other objects and advantages of this inventionwill be apparent from the following detailed description of one approvedform Aof the apparatus, involving the principles of this invention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the complete machine, in position on thetrack rails.

Fig. 2 is an end view of the machine, the supporting rails being shownin transverse vertical section. The diggers are shown in loweredposition, `operating between a pair of ties.

Fig. 3 is a detailed view similar to the right hand end of Fig. 2,showing, on a somewhat .larger scale, the outer digger in a raisedposition.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section, taken substantially on the line 4 --4 ofFig. 3.-

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the lower portion of the guiding memberor bracket.

Fig. 6 is a central vertical section through one of the lifting jacks,which supports the apparatus from thecar wheels.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged side elevation of the clutches and stop mechanismfor controlling the lifting jacks.

Fig. 8 is an end view of this mechanism, the view being takensubstantially on the line 8 8 of Fig. 7.

The car or supporting frame l which carries all 'of the apparatushereinafter described, is mounted on wheels 2, adapted to travel on therails 3 .supported in t-he usual manner on ties 4. The frame l and theapparatus carried thereby are supported from the wheels 2 throughsuitable raising and loweringimechanism which will be described indetail hereinafter. During the normal operation of the diggingmechanism, this raising and lowering mechanism is not used. The platform5 at one end of the car supports theengine of power plant 6 for drivingthe car and the digging mechanism, This engine ma be of any suitabletype, but is preferably. anA internal combustion engine as indicated.The car is preferably hauled from place to place by attaching same 100in the usual manner to a train or locomotive, although gearing-connections V(not here shown), may be provided whereby the car candrive itself from the power plant 6.

Such connections are disclosed in my copend- 105 ing application SerialNo. 747,537, hereinabove referred to.

The forward portion of frame 1 comprises base portions 7, and asuperstructure 8, built up of suitable metal beams, in which the dig-110 ging mechanism is mounted. This digging apparatus consists of twoseparate` substantially identical units, each one operating to excavateone-half of the-roadway, that4 is, from the center line of the trackwayto one end of the ties. A driving crank 9 for one of these units ismounted at oneside of the supportin frame, and a similar driving crank10 1s mounted near the opposite .slde of the supporting frame, thesecranks being normall driven in opposite directions, as indicate by thearrows in Fig. 2. A drivin shaft 1l, mounted longitudinally throug thesuperstructure 8, is driven from the power plant or engine 6, throughsprocket gearino' indicated at 12, and a clutch 13 controlled by lever14 is provided whereby the power may be thrown on or olf as desired. Asprocket chain 15 connects a small sprocket 16 on one end of drive shaft11, with a` larger sprocket 17 mounted on the axis 18 of the crank 9,the sprocket 17 and crank 9 forming substantially a unit rotatable aboutthe axis 18. Crank 10 is driven in a similar manner but in the opposited1- rection b ay sprocket chain 19, the upper end of wliich is driven bya small sprocket 20, which in turn is driven through a pair of similarintermeshing spur gears 21 from the drive shaft 11. The crank 9 operatesone digging'unit, that is, the mechanism for excavating one-half of theroadbed, and the crank 10 drives the other unit inan exactly similarmanner. Since these two units, that is the two halves of the machine,are substantially identical, only one of them need be described indetail, and wewill describe the unit shown at the right-hand half ofFig. 2, that is, the unit driven froml crank 9.

Each excavating unit comprises a'n outer digger 22, adapted to removethe material from between the end portions of the pair of vadjacent ties4, and from beneath the rail 3,

and an inner digger 23 adapted to remove the material from the centerline of the track, or slightl be ond this center line, out to therail3., lllacli digger 22 or 23 comprises a plurality of scoops or spades24, which are adapted -to move in looped or elli tical paths, asindicated in dotted lines in Fg. 3, so as to first dig down into theballast then move outwardly substantiallyhorlzontally to throw thematerial toward the side of the track, then move up and back over theirformer paths. to repeat the operation. The cribs or spaces betweenadjacent ties 4 vary considerably in width in the ordinary roadbed andthe spades 24 arepreferabl made suiiiciently narrow to operate inpractically any of these cribs.

The outer digger 22 is mountedto slide in a direction Iperpendicular torails 3, that is, longitudinal 1y of the ties 4, upon guide rods or sideways 25, in the auxiliary carriage or supporting frame 26. The reasonfor this sliding movement of digger 22 on rods 25 will be explainedhereinafter, but for' the present wemay consider the digger 22 assubstantially fixed with relation to the supporting carriage 26.

A pair of bellcranks 27 are intermediatel secured near opposite ends ofa cross-sha t 28, mounted in bearings 29 on the upper portion ofsuperstructure 8. A similar pair o f bellcranks 30 are mounted on across-shaft 31 which is parallel to'shaft 28 and spaced inwardlytherefrom. The shorter arms 32 of the respective bellcranks 27 and 30 atthe same side of the machine, are connected by links 33, so that allfour of the bellcranks will swing in unison. A downwardly eX- tendingcrank arm 34 secured to one end of shaft 31 is formed with a slot 35 inwhich engages a pin 36 on nut 37 ada ted to travel lengthwise of thethreaded sha t 38 mounted in suitable bearings 39 in the superstructureand extending transversely of the car.

In an exactly similar manner, two other sets of bellcranks 40 and 41 aremounted inwardly of the supporting frame on shafts 42 and 43 parallelwith the shafts 28 and 31, previously described. The shorter arms of thebellcranks 40fand 41 are connected by the links 44, A .crank arm 45secured to one end of shaft 42 has a slot 46 in which engages a pin 47on the nut 48 threaded on screw shaft 49, which is mounted in the framesimilarly to shaft 38 but lat the opposite end of the machine'.

A shaft 50 is mountedin the upper central portion of the machine, andextendinglongitudinally of the car, and is driven through sprocket chainconnections 51 a'nd 52, from t e engine 6. A worm wheel 53 on screwshaft 49 meshes with a worm wheel 54 rotatable on the drive shaft 50.Worm wlieel 54 may be clutched to the shaft 50 by means of the slidingclutch member 55 controlled by lever 56. In an exactly similar manner,the screw shaft 38 is driven fromshaft 50 vthrough the worm gearings 57,and clutch .similarly suspended from the bellcranks 30.

In the same manner, supporting links 64 and 65 are suspended from thebellcranks 40 and 41.

A castin or frame 66 com rises parallel side bars 6 which are pivoted)at their ends 68 to the ears 69 extending upwardly'from the side membersof carnage 26 near one end thereof.y The other ends of side bars 67 arepivoted on a transverse shaft 70, which is suspended in the lower ends71 of the links 63. A pair of levers 72 intermediately pivoted at 7 3 tothe central portions of the side bars 67 are pivoted at their upperOuter ends 7410 the lower ends of the links 61, and are pivoted at theirinner lower ends to the short links 75, which in turn are connected tothe carriage 26. A pitman or connecting rod 76 is connected at one endto an extension 66 of the frame 66, and is pivoted at its other end onthe crank pin 77 of the driving crank 9. It will be notedthat as theCrank 9 is rotated continuously in the direction ofthe arrow, Fig. 2,the pitman 76 will be reciprocated back and forth lengthwise of the ties4, and will also swing intermediately about the pivotal connectionswithI the lower ends 71 of links 63, so that the outer ends 68 of thepitman will rise and fall, raising and lowering the carriage 26 as it isswung backwardly and forwardly.v The members 67 and 72 constitute a lazytongs, alternately expanding and contracting to lower and raise thedigger as it is oscillated. This will cause the carriage 26, andconsequently the digger 22 suspended therefrom, to move through a loopedor elliptical path, as indicated in dotted linesin Fi i. '3.' Thefunction of the second pair of lin s 61, and the levers 72, is to imparta similar parallel motion to the other end of carriage 26, the carriageremaining substantially .parallel with the ground` at all times. Theshort links 7 5 are to compensate for the varying distances between thelower ends of levers 67 and 72 as the carriage is raised and lowered bythe swinging movement of the operating pitman 76.

A quite similar mechanismis provided for suspending and operating theinner digger 23. A second pitman 78, similar in construction to theitman 76, but` shorter, is pivted at one endD on the crank pin 77. Theother forked end portion of this pitman is intermediately pivoted at 79to the lower ends of the links 65, and the ends 80 of the pitman arepivoted at 81 to the ears 82 on the digger 23. The forked end portions80 of the pitman are intermediately pivoted at 83 to levers 84,suspended at one end 85 from the links 64, and at the other endsconnested through short links 86 with ears 87 on digger 23. The generalconstruction and perat1on of this supporting mechanism for the innerdigger 23 is the same as that described in more detail for the outerdigger 22, and it will be noted that the inner and outer 'diggers 23 and22 are simultaneously operated through their respective paths by thesame crank 9.

The innerdigger 23 is adapted to excavate the ballast material in thespace between thecenter line of the roadbed, and

the inner face of the rail 3. Its operatin`v path is approximately thesaine when raised as when lowered. On the contrary, the outer digger 22when in elevated position, is adapted to operate only in the space.between the ends of the ties beyond the rail 3, but when lowered it isadapted to operate beneath the rail 3 as well as in the space betweenthe ends of the ties 4. It is for this reason that the digger 22 ismounted tor longitudinal sliding movement on the rods 25 in theauxiliary carriage 26, and one fea- -ture of the present invention isAto provide by lever arms 27 which extend rearwardly from and in linewith the longer -arms of bell-cranks 27. At the lower end of. plate 88is attached a cam structure 90, best shown in Fig. 5. This cam plateembodies an inner cam slot 91 and an outer cam slot 92, the upperportions of these slots being substantially parallel with one another.The lower portion 93 of slot 92 inclines sharply inwardly until itterminates substantially in line4 with the upper portion of slot 91, ifextended downwardly. On the other hand, the lower portion 94 of innerslot 91 inclines sharply outwardly until it terminates against the wallof slot 93 as indicated at 95. The cross shaft 70, which forms thepivotal connection between forks 67 of frame member 66, and the lower'ends of links 63, is adapted to slide vertically in the slot 91 as thesupports for digger 22 are raised or lowered. A bracket 96 extendingupwardly from the digger 22, carries a pin 97 engaging in the slot 92. l

The outer and inner diggers 98 and 99 'at the left-hand side of theapparatus as seen in Fig. 2, are exactlysimilar to the diggers 22 and'23 previously described. and are sus ended and operated in thesamemanner. he pitmen 100 and 101 for these diggers 98 vand 99,. areconnected withl and operated from the crank pin 102 of t-he otheroperating cranklO. It will be noted from Fig. 2 that there issubstantially 90o diifel ence in the relative angular positions of thecranks 9 and '10 on their` respective shafts. This is to give aslightlydiferent timing to the two sets of diggers, so that the innerdiggers 23 and 99 will not both reach the inner limit bf their travel atthe same time. In this way, each of these diggers can slightly overlapthe center line of the track Without! interfering with one another. Thisinsures the complete removal of all of the material lying between theties. The cranks 9 and 10 might be positioned atother Inoperation, wewill assume that -the engine 6 is operating, and that the car has beenproperly located above one of the spaces between a pair of adjacent ties4, and that all of the diggers are in their extreme elevated positions.By throwing in clutch 13 by means of lever 14, the several diggers arenow thrown into gear and these diggers will commence to travcl throughtheir elliptical orbits, without, however, coming in contact with theballast between the ties, since the diggers are now at their extremeupper adjustments, so as not to contact with thc material to beexcavated. By means of lever 59, clutch 58 is now thrown into gear,th'us causing screw shaft 38 to be rotated. This will gradually moveinwardly, that is, to-

ward the center of the machine, the nuts 37 on the oppositely threadedends of shaft 38, thus causing the simultaneous lowering of all of theouter longer arms of the bellcranks 27 and 30, whereby the supportingcarriages 2G and the outer diggers 22 will be gradually lowered. Asthese diggers are lowered, they continue to oscillate through theirelliptical orbits, so that the material i between the outer ends of ties4 will be dug out and thrown beyond the outer side of the trackway. Asthe upper paths of the orbits of the diggers 22 reach approximatelythelevel of thc lowerY surfaces of rails 3, the pins and 97 will enter thelower inclined ends 94 and 93 of the cam slots 91 and 92, since theswinging bracket or guide plate does not move downwardly with thediggers, but, on the contrary, moves upwardly at this time since it issuspended from the og positely projecting arms 27 of bellcranks 2 As thedownward movement of the digger continues, the pin 97 will be forcedinwardly along the inwardly inclinedl slot 93, thus sliding the digger22 inwardly along the guide rods 25. At the same time, the shaft 70 willpass into the lower outwardly inclined slot 94, thus forcing the plate88 carrying the cam plate 90 to swing inwardly, thus also A through pin97 and bracket 96, sliding the digger 22 inwardly along guide rods 25.It will be noted that the effect of the two oppositely inclined slots 93and 94 is accumulative, each tending to shift the digger 22 inwardly, sothat a rapid adjustment of the digger 22 toward the inner ends of theguide rods `25 is accomplished. The rapidity of this shifting movementis again substantially doubled due to the fact that the cam plate 90 ismoving up as the digger moves down, thus accelerating the passage of theshafts 70 and pin 97fthrough cam slots 94 and 93. In this way, theorbits of the outer diggers 22 will be very quickly moved back beneaththe rails 3 to remove the ballast or other material from beneath therails. When .this excavating operation is completed, the lowering of theouter diggers 22 is discontinued by throwing out the clutch 58. Theclutch 55 is now thrown into gear, thus rotating the screw shaft 49 andcausing the inner diggers 23 and 99 to be lowered in substantially thesame manner as already described for the outer diggers, with theexception that no means is provided t0 move these inner diggers underthe rails.

he material within the crib or space between the ties from the centerline of the track to the rails 3 is now dug up by these inner diggersand thrown into the excavation previously madev by the outer diggers A22and 98. he outer diggers, which are still in operation, will throw thismaterial on beyond the ends of the cars.

When the excavation of a crib has been completed, the direction ofrotation of drive shaft 50 is reversed (by means of reversing mechanismlocated at the engine 6 and not here shown), and all of the dig ers arequickly elevated by throwing 1n both clutches 55 and 58.

The raising and lowering mechanism for the `several di gers ashereinabove described, is capa le of raising the digging mechanism clearof the roadbed and ties 4, but they will not,be raised completely abovethe level of the rails 3, so that the machine cannot be safelytransported for any distance along the tracks, particularly acrossswitches or track crossings, without raising thc mechanism until it isentirelyl clear of the tracks. To accomplish this, and also to permitthe digging mechanism as an entirety to be adjusted vertically to meetdifferent conditions of operation, lifting mechanism is provided betweenthe main supporting frame 1 and the car .wheels |2, whereby the entireapparatus supported by these wheels can be raised as a unit. Therespective pairs of wheels 2 at the front and rear ends of the car aremounted on the ends of cross axles 103 in the usual manner. Therespective ends of these axles 103 are supported in bearings or 'journalboxes 104, see Fig. 6. Secured to or integral with the bearings 104 areupstanding posts 105, each fitting within and adapted for verticalsliding movement in' a guide or socket 106, one of which is rigidlybuilt into each corner of the car frame 1. The post 105 and socketopening in guide 106, may be circular or square, or of any other desiredconfiguration in cross section, it only beingessential that the post 105be rigidly sustained within the guide 106, but capable of Averticalsliding movement therein. A nut 107, formed of bronze or other suitablemetal, is screwed or otherwise secured in the upper end of post 105, andan operating screw 108 is threaded within nut 107 the lower portion ofthis screw being freely housed within the hollow lower portion 109 ofthe post 105. The rotatable screw 108 supports theweight of thesupporting frame l and parts carried thereby, by means of a thrustcollar 110, bearing against the lower face of head 111 of guide member106. A beveled gear 112, and a worm wheel 113, are keyed on the upperend of screwl 108 above the head 111, and held in place by a' lock nut114. A cross-shaft 115, mounted in bearings 116, in supporting frame 1,has beveled gears 117 at its res ective ends, these gears meshing withthe eveled gears 112 whereby simultaneous operation of the two screws108 of the two ends of axle 103 is provided. A shaft 118 mounted inbearings 119 in frame 1, extends longitudinally of the car at one sidethereof, and has worm wheels 120 mounted near its ends, which mesh withand drive the worm wheels 113 at the upper ends of the screws 108. Theshaft 118 needs be provided on only one side of the car, and rotation ofthis shaft will through the ear connections .al-

ready described, cause t e simultaneous operation of all four of thelifting or lowering screws 108. A sprocket gear 121 secured to one endof shaft 118 is connected through sprocket chain 122 with a sprocketgear 123 which is free rotatable on the shaft 124 which extendslongitudinally of the car in the upper central portion thereof.Obviously, any other suitable form of gear connections between shafts118 and 124 could be substituted for the sprocket gearing here shown byway of example. Gear 123 is formed on its opposite ends with the clutchmembers 125 and 126. Cooperating clutch members 127 and 128 are keyed tothe shaft 124 to rotate therewith, but are slidable along the shaft 124into or out of engagement with the clutch members 125 and 126.' Theclutch members 126 and 128 are formed with engageable shoulders 129 and130, con- `nected by cam surfaces 131, whereby these clutch members willengage to drive the sprocket chain 122: when shaft 124 isl rotated inthe direction of the arrow, Fig. 7, but will automatically move out of egage- Ament when the shaft 124 is rotated in t e opposite direction. Theclutch members 125 and 127 are provided with similar engaging shouldersand cam surfaces, but it will be noted that these clutch members areonly adapted for operative engagement to drive the sprocket chain 122 inthe opposite direction when shaft 124 is rotated in the directionopposite to the arrow in Fig. 7. A lever 132 controls the slidingmovement of clutch member 128, and similarly a lever 133 moves theclutch member 127, the levers 132 and 133 being connected by a link 134whereby when one clutch member is thrown into engagement the 'other ismoved out of engagement and vice versa. The shaft 124: is driven fromthe shaft 50, described hereinabove, by sprocket connections indicatedat 135.

With the frame l in its lowered position,

as indicated in the drawings, shaft 124 will be driven in the directionindicated by the arrow, Fig. 2. The direction lof rotation of shaft 124may be changed as desired, by means of the reversing mechanism locatedat the engine or power plant v6. To raise the frame 1, the lever 132 isthrown over so as to cause the engagement of clutch members 126 and 128.Through the gear connections already described, the screws 108 will nowrall be simultaneously rotated so that they will screw up through thenuts 107 and raise the supporting frame above the axles 103 and wheels2, the posts 105 sliding down through the guides 106. A stop mechanismis provided to' prevent the excessive upward movement of the supportingframe. A rod 136 is secured at its lower end to one of the axles 103(see Fig. 2), and the upper end of this rod slides through an opening137 in a lever arm 138 extending laterally from the lower end of theclutch operating lever 132. A pair of nuts 139 and 140 are adjustablymounted on the threaded upper end portion of rod 136. As the supportingframe 1 and the mechanism carried thereby reach the desired upper limitof their travel, the lever arnr 138 will come into engagement with thestop nut 139 and further upward movement will, through levers 138 and132,

withdraw the clutch member 128 from enexcessive movement of lever 132 tothe right I in Fig. 7, thus bringing clutch member 127 1nto engagementwith clutch member 125,

would produce no results, since the cam surv faces on these two clutchmembers are so formed as to automatically throw them out of engagementwhen shaft 124 is 4rotating in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 7. Withthe supporting frame 1 in this raised position, the entire car can betransported to any location desired along the tracks 3 without danger ofany portion of the mechanism encountering switch rails or crossings orother similar devices. In order to lower the frame and digging mechanismto their operative positions, as shown in the drawings, shaft 124 willfirst be rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow in Fig. 7 (bysuitably manipulating the reversing mechanism at the engine 6), and thenlever 132 will be thrown over to the right (Fig. 7), so as to bringclutch members 127 and 125 into operative engagement. This will causethe continued rotation of the gear connections inithe directionsopposite to that hereinabove described,

At the lower nina of clutches 127 and 125 out of engagement, thusstopping the screws in a manner similarto that first described. Althoughthis mechanism has been described as adapted for raising the supportingframe from a standard lower position, where the diggers are normallyoperated, to a standard upper position for transportation from onelocality to another, it is obvious that the same raising and loweringmechanism could be used for shorter vertical adjustments, to adjustvertically the -operative range of movements of the diggers to meetspecial conditions.

An auxiliary set of supporting wheels 141 are suspended in brackets 142extending downwardly from the supporting frame 1. These wheels v141 arepositioned at right angles to the wheels 2 and normally ,will not be inengagement with anything but will viimply hang freely from the lowerportion of the supporting frame. Vhen it is desired to remove the entiremachine from the railway tracks 3, for example to store it at one sideof the tracks and permit the passage of rains along the tracks, thelifting jacks are first operated as hereinabove described to raise thesupporting frame and parts carried thereby to their upper positions. Theauxiliary wheels 141 will now be raised to such a height above thetracks 3 that auxiliary tracks may be laid across these rails at right4angles thereto and beneath thewheels 141.

The lowering mechanism is now thrown into gear, whereupon the" frame 1will be lowered until the wheels 141 rest upon the auxiliary rails, andfurther rotation of the screws 108 in this direction will, through nuts107, posts 105 and bearings 104, lift the axles 103 and wheels 2 clearof the rails 3, so that these parts will now be supported from theframe 1. The entire machine ris now supported by the auxiliary wheels141 and may be moved transversely. from the trackway, along theauxiliary rails. Obviously the machine may be replaced upon the tracks 3by reversing the steps hereinabove described.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for removing material from between the ties of a railwaytrack comprising a supporting frame, digging mechanism mounted in theframe, power means for operating the digging mechanism also carriedl inthe frame, wheels for movably supporting the frame on the track rails,

a lifting jack interposed between each wheel.

and the frame, each jack comprising a very tical guide on the frame, a`journal support for the wheel having a post slidable vertically in theguide, a nut in the post, a screw mounted in the frame and threaded inthe nut,`means comprising a plurality of countween this shaft and one ofthe countershafts comprising clutch mechanism, and means forautomatically throwing out the clutch mechanism when the frame reacheseither the upper or lower limit of its movement.

2. An apparatus for removing material from between the ties of a railwaytrack comprising a supporting frame, digging mechanism mounted in theframe, power means for operating the digging mechanism also carried inthe frame, wheels for movably supporting the frame on the track rails, alifting jack interposed between each wheel and the frame, each jackcomprising a vertical guide on the frame, a journal support for thewheel having a post slidable Avertically in the guide, a nut in thepost, a screw mounted in the frame and threaded in the nut. meanscomprising a plurality of countcrshafts and gears for simultaneouslyrotating the several screws, a shaft Idriven from the power means,driving connections between this shaft and one of the "countershaftsincluding clutch mechanism, one member of which isv slidable along saidshaft into or out of clutching position, a lever for throwing thismember in or out, and a rod connected at its lower end to a portion ofthe wheel supporting structurel and having a stop projection whichengages the lever to throw the clutch out when the frame reaches onelimit of its vertical movement.

3. An apparatus for removing material from between the ties of a railwaytrack comprising a supporting frame, digging mechanism mounted in t'heframe, power means'for 'operating the digging mechanism also'carried inthe frame, Wheels for movably supporting the frame on the track rails, alifting jack interposed between each wheel and the frame, each jackcomprising a vertical guide on the fralne, a journal support for thewheel having a post slidable vertically in the guide, a nut in the post,-a screw mounted in the frame and threaded in the nut, means comprisinga plurality of countershafts and gears for simultaneously rotating theseveral screws, a drive shaft driven from the power means, drivingconnections between this shaft and one of the countershafts comprising agear rotatable on the drive shaft, clutch members on opposite faces ofthis gear, cooperating clutch members keyed to the shaft and slidableinto or out of engagement with the rotating .clutch members, theengaging faces of the airs of clutch members being so beveled t at oneset of clutches are adapted to drive the jacks only for raising same andthe other set only for lowering same, lever connections forsimultaneously sliding the keyed clutch members whereby only one canbein operative position at a time, and a. rod connected at its lower endto the wheel supporting structure and having stop projections whichengage a gear rotatable on this driving shaft,

this gear driving the gear connections to the rotatable jack members,there being clutch members on opposite faces of this driving gear,clutch members keyed to the driving shaft and slidable into or out ofengagement with the respective clutchmembers on the driving gear, meansfor selectively throwing the clutch members into engagement, and meanslfor automatically throwing the engaged clutch members out of engagementwhen the, frame reaches the limitof its vertical travel.

5. An apparatus for removing material from between the ties of a railwaytrack comrising a supporting frame,- digging mec anism mounted in theframe, wheels for movably supporting the frame on the track rails,lifting jacks interposed between the wheels and frame, each jackcomprising a rotatable member, gea-r connections for simultaneouslyrotating all of the rotatable members, a power means on the frame, a

driving shaft driven from the power means,

a gear rotatable on this driving shaft, this gear driving the gearconnections to the rotatable jack members, there being clutchA memberson opposite faces of this driving gear, clutch members keyed to thedriving shaft and slidable into or out of engagement with the respectiveclutch members on the driving gear, lever connections for simultaneouslysliding the keyed ,clutch members whereby only one pair of clutchmembers can be moved into engagement at one time, and a rod connected atits lower end to the wheel supporting structure and having stopprojections thereon which engage the lever connections to throw theengaged clutches out-l of engagement when the frame reaches the limit ofits .vertical travel in either direction.

6; An apparatus for removing material from between theV ties of arailway track comprising a supporting frame, digging mec anism mountedin the frame, wheels for movably supporting the frame on the trackrails, lifting jacks interposed between the wheels and frame, each jackcomprising a'rotatable member, gear connections for simultaneouslyrotating all of the rotatable members, a power means on the frame, adriving shaft driven from the power means, a gear rotatable on thisdriving shaft, this gear driving the gear connections to the rotatablejack members, there being clutch members on opposite faces of thisdriving gear,

clutch members keyed to the driving shaft and slidable into or out ofengagement with the respective clutch members on the driving gear, leverconnections for simultaneously sliding the vkeyed clutch members wherebyonly one pair of clutch members can be moved into engagement at onetime,

a rod connected at its lower end to the wheel supporting structure, andadjustable stops on this rod for engaging the lever connections to throwthe engaged clutches out of engagement when the frame reaches anydesired point in its vertical travel.

7. In an a paratus for removing the material from between the tiesof arailway track, a supporting structure, a digger,

means for supporting and operating the digger inthe space` between apair of ties, means for lowering the supporting means and digger as thematerial is removed, and means for shifting the digger laterally withrelation to its supporting means as it is lowered to bring its path ofoperation beneath the rail, said latter means comprising a memberpivotally supported-at its -up'per end and adapted to swing at itslowerend longitudinally of the ties, the lower por tion of this memberembodying cam slots engaged by portions of the digger and supportingmeans respectively.

8. In an apparat-us for removing the material from Vbetween the ties ofa Irailway track, a supporting structure, a digger,

means for supporting and operating the' digger in the space between apair of ties, means for lowering the supporting means and digger as thematerial is removed, and

-means for shifting the digger laterally with relation vto itssupporting means as it is lowered-to bring its path o f operationbeneath the rail, said latter means comprising a member pivotallysupported at its upper end and adapted to swing at its lower endlongitudinally of the ties, the lower end of this memberbeing vformedwith a pair of substantially vertically extending cam slots, the lowerends of the slots slanting toward one another, a.- projection on thedlgger engaging in one slot, and a projection'on the digger-supportingmeans engaging in the other slot.

9. In an apparatus for removing the material ,fromv` between the ties ofa railway track, a supporting structure, a digger, means for supportingand operating the digger in the space between a pair .0f ties, means forlowering the supporting 'means and digger as the material is removed,and means for shifting the digger laterally with weo relation to itssupporting means as it is lowered to bring its path of operation beneaththe rail, said latter means comprising a member pivotally supported atits upper end and adapted to swing at its lower end longitudinally ofthe ties, the lower end ol this member being formed with a pair ofsubstantially vertically extending cam slots, the lower portion of oneof these slots inclining inwardly toward the rail, the lower portion ofthe other slot inclining outwardly toward the first slot, a projectionon the digger engaging in the lirst named slot, and a projection on thedigger-supporting means engaging in the second slot.

10. In an apparatus for removing the material from between the ties of arailway track, a supporting structure, a digger, means for supportingand operating the digger in the space between a pair of ties, means forlowering the supporting means and digger as the material is removed, andmeans for shifting the digger laterally with relation to its supportingmeans as it is lowered to bring its path of operation beneath the rail,said latter means comprising a member pivotally supported at its upperend, means for causing the lower portion of this member to swing withthe digger operating mechanism, a cam slot inA the member which inclinesinwardly toward the rail, and a projection on the digger engaging inthis slot.

11. In an apparatus for removing the material from between the ties of arailway track, a supporting structure, a digger, means for supportingand operating the digger in the space between a pair of ties, means forlowering the supporting means and digger as the material is removed, andmeans for shifting the digger laterally with relation to its supportingmeans as it is lowered to bring its path of operation beneath the rail,said latter means comprising a memberl pivotally supported at its upperend, means for causing the lower p0rtion 'of this member to swing withthe digger operating mechanism, a cam slot in the member having asubstantially vertical upper portion and an inwardly inclined lowerportion, and a projection on the digger engaging and sliding in thisslot as the digger is raised or lowered.

12. An apparatus for removingmaterial from between the ties of a railwaytrack, comprising `a supporting frame, a rotary crank mounted in theframe, means for rotating the crank, a pair of swinging frames pivotallysuspended in spaced relation in the upper portion of the frame, meansfor simultaneously raising or lowering the frames, a pitman pivoted atone end to the crank and intermediately to one of the swinging frames, alever pivoted at one end to the other swinging frame and intermediatelyto the pitman, a carriage suspended from the remaining ends' of thelever and pitman, guides on the carriage, a digger slidable along theguides longitudinally of the tires, and means for adjustingthe diggeraloneF the guides as the carriage and digger are iaised or lowered, saidmeans comprising a member pivotally supported at its upper end andformed with cam slots in its lower portion engaged by portions of thedigger and the carriage supporting mechanism respectively.

13. An apparatus for removing material from between the ties of arailway track, comprising a supporting frame, a rotary cr-ank mounted inthe frame, means for rotating the crank, a air of swinging framespivotally suspende in spaced relation in the upper portion of the frame,means for simultaneously raising or lowering the frames, a pitmanpivoted at one end to the crank and intermediately to one of theswinging frames, a lever pivoted at one end to the other swinging frameand intermediately to the pitman, a carriage suspended from theremaining ends of the lever and pitman, guides on the carriage, a diggerslidable along the guides longitudinally of -the ties, and means foradjusting the digger along the guides as the carriage and digger areraised or lowered, said means comprising a member pivotally supported atits upper end and formed in its lower portion with a pair ofsubstantially vertically eX- tending cam slots, the lower portion of oneslot inlining inwardly toward the rail, and the lower portionof theotherslot inclining outwardly toward the irstslot, a bracket extensionon the digger engaging in the lirst named slot, and one of the pivotalconnections of the carriage supporting means engaging in the secondslot.

14. In an apparatus for removing the material from between the ties of arailway track, a supporting structure, a digger, means for supportingand operating the digger in the space between a pair o ties, means forlowering the supporting means and digger as the material is removed, andmeans for shifting the digger laterally with relation to its supportingmeans as it is lowered to bring its path of operation beneath the rail,said latter `means comprising a member pivotally supported at its upperend and adapted to swing at its lower end longitudinally of the ties,the lower portion of this member embodying cam slots engaged by portionsof the digger and supporting means respectively, and means for raisingthis pivoted member as the digger is lowered, or vice versa.

15. In an apparatus for removing the material from between the ties of a'railway track, a supporting structure, a digger, means for supportingand `operating the digger in the space between a pair of ties, means forlowering the supporting means and digger as the material is removed, andmeans or shifting the digger laterally with relation to its supportingmeans as it is lowered to bring its path of operation beneath the rail,said latter means comprising a mem-I ber pivotally supported at itsupper end and adapted to swing at its lower end longitudinally of theties, the lower end of this member being formed with a pair ofsubstantially vertically extending cam slots, the lower portion of oneof these slots inclining inwardly toward the rail, the lower portion ofthe other slots inclining outwardly toward the first slot, a projectionon the digger engaging in the first named slot, and a projection on thedigger-supporting means engaging in the second slot, and means forraising this pivoted member as the digger is lowered, or vice versal.

16. In an apparatus for removing material from between the ties of arailway track, a supporting frame, a set of levers intermediatelypivoted in the upper portion of the support-ing frame, a air of swingingframes pivotally suspended rom similar arms of the levers, a carrlagesuspended from the swinging frames, means for swinging the frames andcarriage, guides on the carriage, a digger slidable along the guideslongitudinally of the ties, and means for moving the digger along theguides as the carriage fand digger are raised and lowered, said meanscomprising a member pivotally suspended from other arms of thefirst-named levers so that it will be raised as the digger is loweredand formed with cam slots in its lower portion engaged by portions ofthe digger and carriage supporting mechanism respectively.

17. An apparatus for removing material from between the ties of arailway track, comprising a supporting frame, a rotary crank mounted inthe frame, means for rotating the crank, a set of intermediately pivotedlevers mounted in the upper portion of the supporting frame, a pair ofswinging frames pivotally suspended in spaced relation from similar armsof the levers, means for swinging the levers in unison to raise or lowerthe frames, a itman pivoted at one end to the crank an intermediately toone of the swinging frames, a lever pivoted at one end to the otherswinging frame and intermediately to the pitman, a carriage suspendedfrom the remaining ends of the lever and itman, guides on the carriage,a digger slida le along the guides longitudinally of the ties, and meansfor adjusting thedigger along the guides as the carriage and digger areraised or lowered, said means comprising a. member-pivotally supportedat its upper end from one of the first-named levers so that it will beraised as the digger is lowered and formed with cani slots in its lowerportion engaged by portions of the digger and the carriage supportingmechanism respectively.

18. lfn an apparatus for removing material from between the ties of arailway track, comprising a vsupporting frame, a rotary crankmounted inthe frame, means for rotating the crank, a set of intermediately pivotedlevers mounted in the upper portion of the supporting frame, a pair ofswinging frames pivotally suspended in spaced relation from similar armsof the levers, means for swinging the levers in unison to raise or lowerthe frames, a pitman pivoted at one end to the crank and intermediatelyto one of the swinging frames, a lever pivoted at one end to the otherswinging frame and intermediately to the pitman, a carriage suspendedfrom the remaining ends of the lever and pitman, guides on the carriage,a digger slidable along the guides longitudinally of the ties, and meansfor adjusting the digger along the guides as the carriage and digger areraised or lowered, said means co mprising a member pivotally supportedat its upper end from one of the first-named levers s o that it will beraised as the'digger is lowered and formed in its lower portion with apair of substantially vertically extending cam slots, the lower portionof one slot inclining inwardly toward the rail, and the lower portion ofthe other slot inclining outwardly toward the first `slot, a bracketextension on the digger engaging in the first named slot, and oneof thepivotal connections of the carriage supporting means engaging in thesecond slot.

EMMON S OVERMIER.

